UCLA men’s soccer gains fresh talent with No. 1 recruiting class

After a guided tour of UCLA’s campus, a look inside the Bruins’ athletic locker room and a meal at the dining hall, Nathan Smith found himself in coach Jorge Salcedo’s office, face-to-face with Salcedo himself.

It was then that the coach offered Smith, who was later ranked as the No. 5 high school recruit by College Soccer News, a goal he had been trying to achieve since sixth grade – an opportunity to play soccer for UCLA.

Smith, one of UCLA’s nine freshmen, said he “knew right away that (he) was going to go to this school” and that it was an “easy decision” for him. He verbally committed on the spot.

Salcedo said Smith may have been the toughest player to recruit in this year’s freshman class because of all the options the talented then-high school junior had.

Still, one thing eventually became clear – Smith would go on to become the prize recruit in the UCLA men’s soccer 2013 freshman class, which was recently ranked No. 1 overall nationally by College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer.

Alongside Smith is freshman midfielder Willie Raygoza (No. 13), defender Michael Amick (No. 15), forward Kevin De La Torre (No. 21), defender/midfielder Michael Griswold (No. 81), forward Gregory Antognoli, midfielder Brian Iloski, midfielder Felix Vobejda and forward/midfielder Gage Zerboni.

When asked what he sees in this freshman class, Salcedo was quick to point out the obvious – “A lot of talent,” he said. But the coach also mentioned the newcomers’ dedication to the team.

“They all have a good approach and attitude on a daily basis. You know that’s the best way to get better,” he said. “They care about the little details of the game, they want to have a good training session. They want to prepare themselves in the training room. Those are things that are great attributes to have for players that want to be big-time college soccer players.”

On the other hand, the high-level talent in this freshman class isn’t what Amick notices first.

“When I look at our recruiting class, I look at players with a lot of national team experience,” Amick said. “So a bunch of competitive guys that are out here ready to compete for spots and looking to make the team better as a whole.”

Six of the nine Bruins in this freshman class had experience with their respective youth national teams – an experience that Smith said has helped him and his fellow freshmen better transition into the college game.

“I think that helps a lot because we’ve played against other countries that have professional players already, so now we come into college – we’re not nervous or anxious,” Smith, a defender, said. “We already know that it’s just soccer and that we’ve played against guys just as good.”

Through five games, the freshmen have already made their presence felt on the field. Iloski, with two points, is tied for second on the team in points. Smith is sixth on the team in minutes played and has started four games. Amick has started three games. Vobejda has played in five games and De La Torre has played in three.

The freshmen’s early season contributions have been sorely needed, since the Bruins graduated three of their top attacking players last season and have struggled to score goals to start this season.

“We did lose some big-time attacking talent last year (and) we expect them to step up and contribute,” Salcedo said. “We don’t expect them to take the reins by themselves because they are young and inexperienced.”

But the freshmen don’t see it that way. Just merely playing and contributing isn’t enough for them with the title of No. 1 recruiting class on their shoulders. Instead, they have bigger goals in their sights.

“As the No. 1 recruiting class, we come in here as freshmen and we’re looking to immediately compete for positions. We’re looking to immediately try and find a way to step on the field and play our role,” Amick said.

“Moving forward, just beyond freshman year, looking to be leaders for the team, looking to help develop the overall team and then obviously, over the course of four years, create a strong, final senior class that can look for, ultimately, national championships.”